Image credit: El PaísAccording to El País on sunday, celebraty chef Ferran Adrià is plotting a zero emission premises for his restaurant elBulli on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. The 2010 chef of the decade (nominated by The Restaurant magazine) closed his three Michelin stars restaurant last year to take some time of and reinvent himself. Part of his new plan is to build a smartgrid to make both the current and the future installations eco-friendly. For this, he has teamed up with architect Enric Ruiz-Geli, who we know from the Thirst Paviliion at Expo Zaragoza in 2008.

Image credit: El País

The architect and chef are both passionate about innovation and new technologies, so this new elBulli looks promising. According to Ruiz-Geli, there are only 3 zero emission buildings in Europe so far, but all of the new elBulli pavilions will be so too. Wind, solar, and geothermal energy will be stored in hydrogen batteries which allow for efficient redistribution. Water, a sometimes scarce element in Spain, is also used with care: rainwater deposits, and energy produced from algues are all part of the plan.

Ruiz-Geli told El País that "sustainability is very expensive, but it is an investment into awareness". Spain is very dependend on gas from Algeria and nuclear energy from France, so this new smartgrid for elBulli will make a point of independence and sustainability. I am certainy curious to know what Adrià will come up with in the next years, and can only hope that he considers food miles and the slow food philosophy as part of his plan. Starting with a zero emission parc for the Foundation elBulli is definitely a step in the right direction.